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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27562399">A New Leg, A New Beast.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ARSONjST/pseuds/ARSONjST'>ARSONjST</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Clairvoyant and The Illusionist [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Wings, fae, please tell me i tagged the right phil, some violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:34:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,218</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27562399</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ARSONjST/pseuds/ARSONjST</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tubbo gets his new leg, which means Philza needs to distract Tommy all day by running basic errands but making them take ten times longer than usual.</p><p>However, robbers really like to try and pick off the easy ones. Or, at least, the ones that look easy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>No Romantic Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Clairvoyant and The Illusionist [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2013421</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>221</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A New Leg, A New Beast.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a few weeks since the whole accidental psionic incident. Tommy hadn't been able to trigger the magic since then but he started to pick up his studies and actually seemed to care about what he was learning. Tubbo had surpassed in the reading aspect of his studies because of his one leg problem, however, it would all change this morning. After a few deep conversations with Technoblade, who knew more than he let on about biomechanical engineering, Tubbo had agreed to be fitted with a mechanical leg. They had warned him of the possibilities of death, the lengthy and agonizing recovery, but he had insisted he would be perfectly fine. Hell, he even seemed eager.</p><p>"Do you have the parts, Techno?" Wilbur questioned, looking over at Tubbo who laughed and joked around with Tommy. The two seemed completely unaware of the stress this day brought, Wilbur honestly liked it that way. It made him forget about the possibility that this kid, who had shown up bleeding and beaten. Who had still smiled when Wilbur played him a song to calm him down while Techno amputated his leg, who always had tried his hardest, even without a leg, to play fight with Wilbur, that he could die.</p><p>"Yeah, the most painful part will be connecting his nerves to the electricity within the leg, He should be ready otherwise, and this leg will extend, so he won't need a new one put on every week." Techno sighs, examining the leg a bit by bending it and applying some pressure, "we need to set up the connection area and then connect the leg. Niki said she was ready to help, yes?"</p><p>"Yeah. Philza's going to take Tommy with him into the city today so we can focus on Tubbo." Wilbur looks over at Philza who makes his way across the room to them.</p><p>"Promise me you'll be careful with him. We cannot lose him." Philza leans on Wilbur and the male smiles.</p><p>"You getting soft there, Dad?" Wilbur flicks the brim of Philza's hat and Philza shakes his head with a grin.</p><p>"I got soft the day I let you two call me that." Philza laments, "but he's only sixteen and he's got so many more years to live. Especially after we saw his bout of divination last night... he has a lot to learn."</p><p>"He's going to survive this, Philza. Don't worry." Techno slightly rubs Philza's shoulder and he agrees, "We'll do everything we can to keep him safe."</p><p>"It's Tubbo we're talking about, the kid is so strong, he'll be perfectly fine by tonight. Maybe a little drowsy, but fine." Wilbur grins and Techno makes his way across the room to where Tubbo and Tommy are seated.</p><p>"Tommy, we've gotta start prep," Techno states, though his voice is deadpanned, there's a hidden layer of despair in it. Tommy goes mute before nodding.</p><p>"Please be careful, okay?" Though Tommy doesn't say that he's terrified to lose Tubbo because he's all he has left, it's heavily implied through his eyes and his protective grip on Tubbo's arm.</p><p>"I promise I'll be as careful as I can." Techno smiles and Niki walks over from where she's been reading, her book is set on Tubbo's bedside and she leans down beside the bed to rustle in their little medical supplies box.</p><p>"C'mon Tommy. We've got errands to run." Philza says, reaching out for the boy. He debates before giving Tubbo one final big hug. The two don't let go for some time. Niki turns, walking over to a window and bringing her hands to her chest, her back is facing the boys. Techno busies himself with the mechanics while blinking rapidly. Wilbur walks over to Niki and wraps an arm around her, hiding his face by pretending to look out the window too. Unlike everyone else, Philza openly weeps, showing the boys that it's okay for them to be afraid. He steps closer, ruffling Tubbos hair and pulling the boy to his chest.</p><p>"Make it through this for us all, okay?" He kneels, cupping the boy's face. Tubbo tears up and nods.</p><p>"I will, Dad." He murmurs, it's the first time Tubbo's called him that and Philza feels a pierced feeling through his heart.</p><p>"Boys, it's okay to be afraid, it's a human emotion we've all felt at some point." Philza feels his wings shift, broken on his back, he hopes his jacket is still covering them, "feel the emotion and process it, let it go and move on. We'll see you when we're back Tubbo."</p><p>"You will. I promise." Tubbo meekly smiles and gives Tommy another hug before Tommy slips off the bed and seizes his bag by the door.</p><p>"Best of luck, you three," Philza says, taking Tommy's shoulder and guiding him out the door. No one really wants to see what comes next.<br/><br/><br/></p><hr/><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>They had left at sunrise and Philza was still waiting for some sort of message saying that Tubbo had survived the surgery. Tommy had been extremely off focus today, Philza couldn't bring himself to scold the boy. He was a bit off focus today too but was able to hide it better than Tommy.</p><p>"Last stop, then we can grab something to eat and take a walk back, okay?" Philza looks over at Tommy, he nods, looking down at the letters in his hands as Philza looks over at the nearly set sun.</p><p>"I promise, I'm checking my telephone as much as possible. I haven't gotten a single transmission." For extra measures, he rechecked, but nothing showed up.</p><p>Tommy asks abruptly, "Philza, what happens if he doesn't make it?"</p><p>"<em>Tommy</em>..."</p><p>"I know the statistics, Dad-- I mean, Philza. I know what Tubbo was told. He told me he was scared." Tommy clutches the sides of his leather strapped bag, looking away with a mix of embarrassment and panic on his face.</p><p>Philza doesn't know what to say, his wings shuffle in anger that his students-- no his <em>sons</em>, have to go through this pain. He wraps an arm around Tommy and sighs heavily, "Niki is there. He'll be fine, I promise. I trust Niki, Wilbur, and Techno more than everyone else with stuff like this. I have my reasons to trust them so heavily."</p><p>"I just... worry." Tommy cried and leaned into Philza partially. Before Philza could say anything his phone chirped and anxiously he yanked it out of his hand and read the message,</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>'Miss Nihachu: Tubbo's awake and recovering!'</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Philza could've cried he was so happy, he clutched Tommy tight and held his phone out for the boy to read. Immediately Tommy began pulling Philza along shouting, "C'mon! C'mon! If we finish soon we can go see him sooner!"</p><p>Philza's wings flutter a bit and he forces himself to keep them shut as he runs alongside Tommy who laughs wildly as he drags his teacher along. He drops the letter in the mailbox and collects the small package assigned for them before grabbing Philza's hand and pulling him across the rocky road to the buggy station.</p><p>"A buggy to the North City park please," Philza says, handing over a few gold coins to the female driver who nods and opens the door to let them in. Tommy climbs in haphazardly and knocks his book out of his bag, luckily Phila swoops his hand down to catch it before anyone sees it. Philza gets in a lot smoother than the teenager, who's anxiously waiting.</p><p>"Now, Tommy. I know you're excited to see Tubbo, but you still have to be wary of his injuries." Philza warns, "His leg isn't going to be ready for any sort of movement yet, as it's just been attached. I know you're excited he's okay but--"</p><p>"I know, I know." Tommy sighs, tenderly taking his book back from Philza, "I just... I'm so fucking happy he's okay."</p><p>"Language, Tommy." Philza leans back as he looks out the window.</p><p>"ah, sorry Dad." This time Tommy doesn't correct himself.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The ride to the park is bumpy and long. Tommy bounces his leg and chews on his lip, Philza knows he needs a pastime but he hadn't been able to focus his energy on a conversation until his heart stopped pounding in his ears.</p><p>"Toms, why don't you tell me some stories about you and Tubbo?" Philza suggests, "I still don't know a lot about you two and I've taught you for... maybe four years now?"</p><p>"Hm... okay! But there's a lot of fun stories! But... I don't wanna talk about the really important thing today, is that okay?" Tommy looks over, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb along the spine of his book.</p><p>"Of course, I'm not going to push you to say anything." Philza smiles and Tommy nods.</p><p>"Well, I think my favorite memory is from when he first arrived. My mom wanted me to get to know him, so I took him to the woods behind my house. I taught him how to climb trees, he was insanely nimble too. He and I spent the whole day climbing up and down the trees and running through the woods. We saw deer, hummingbirds, crows, ravens, really everything out there!" Tommy smiled down at his lap, a layer of tears pricking beneath his eyes, "he found some bees, they were dehydrated and sick. He ran back to the house and got a little plate of sugar water. When I tell you the bees literally flew around him in celebration I mean it! They bumped into him and rested on him for an hour. When they flew away finally, we made our way back and told my mom. She then started to call him Bee... though, I'd be careful calling him that now.. bad memories and all."</p><p>"Of course. I'll keep it in mind, Tommy." Philza smiles as Tommy perks up, wiping his face a bit.</p><p>"Oh! Then there was a time we visited the Government Guards for school!" The school was the code word for their original Alchemy training, "We met these three guys, one who wore a mask, one who had a bandana, and another who wore goggles. They were so cool! They all worked in the Forgone Lane, which is the area Techno works in now, I think? And they showed us some of their research... I can't remember their names but I'm sure Tubbo does! He's good at memorizing things!"</p><p>"Then there was the time we skipped classes to go watch a musical. I forget which one it was now, but it was super good! And our teacher was so mad we skipped she made us do double work!" Tommy cackled at the thought and continued to speak, moving his hands as he spoke, "Tubbo used to help my mom cook and bake literally everything! He's a great chef but it's hard to cook with only one leg— but maybe it'll change now that he has one! Maybe he can make you some dinner one time!"</p><p>"And we used to work in the library by my house, my aunt owns it, and she let us work there whenever we needed extra money. Tubbo was so bad at it because he has trouble identifying what letters are what and how to match them, so he'd push the cart and I would sort everything. He loved reading even if he wasn't good at it, so I'd read aloud to him a lot while he pushed the cart around the library." Tommy smiled and continued, "we also did a lot of little work around the town, we'd always save up our money to buy these little chocolates and soft sugary candies. Tubbo actually has the recipe for them still!"</p><p>"We'll have to try them sometime, yeah?" Philza ruffled his hair and opened his buggy door and stepped out, holding it open for Tommy who thanked the driver and climbed out. Philza shut the door and thanked the driver again before she rode off. Turning, Philza placed a hand on the back of Tommy's shoulders.</p><p>"Let's get walking, we can be there before sundown." Philza begins to guide the boy who's thrilled and apprehensive at the same time. As they make it into the woods Philza feels someone staring at him and his wings rustle anxiously. Tommy clearly feels it too, as he steps closer to Philza as they walk.</p><p>"Go!" A voice screams and Philza sees someone drop down on the path in front of them. Instantly, he shoves Tommy behind him and snarls, his eyes beginning to glow. Tommy draws a symbol in the sand quickly, the symbol begins to radiate and Tommy draws out a long sand-looking blade.</p><p>"Go back from where you came, this is my land," Philza warns, his wings rustling under his jacket. They had been agitated all day, how long had they been stalked?</p><p>"Yeah yeah, give us your coins or we'll hurt the kid." The man states, walking up towards Philza. Before Philza can grasp Tommy he hears a shriek behind him as two goons drop down and wrestle Tommy until they disarm him and press a blade to this throat.</p><p>"D-Dad?!" Tommy wheezes and Philza hums, tapping his foot as his eyes begin to glow brighter and brighter.</p><p>One guy, whos masked, notices and yelps, raising a sword as he cries, "Yo! Who did we pick to mess with!?"</p><p>"Man, they seemed like an easy target!" Another goon complains, pressing the blade closer to Tommy's throat. Tommy wiggles, trying to escape but a glance from Philza makes him stall. Philza shrugs his shoulders as his jacket slips off, and he moves his long, feathery, black wings before spreading them out.</p><p>"Oh my god!" One goon yells, scrambling away from Tommy, who slams his head back and breaks from their grasp before running towards Philza.</p><p>"The fae!" Another scream and Philza laughs.</p><p>"You should know better than to wonder where you are unwelcome. Today, I'll let you off with a warning. If any of you try to turn my sons again, you will face something <em>far greater</em> than me." His wings extend fully and he swoops down to grab his jacket before tucking his arms beneath Tommy's and beating his wings to draw up dust. The goons cough and scatter before Philza shoots off into the air.</p><p>"Philza! Dad! Oh my god!" Tommy shouts, he's excited, but Philza is deadpan. They fly right above the treetops for a solid ten minutes in silence before Philza dips down between two trees and sets Tommy down. Philza stumbles as he lands himself and grunts, stretching his wings out. His eyes glance towards the broken one which clicks as he holds them out fully before slowly folding them back in and pulling his jacket on.</p><p>"Tommy." He turns, looking back at the boy, "Please. Do not speak of that. We could be killed just for that... I'll have to get some sort of extra protection from Niki..."</p><p>"What was that? Those wings weren't part-fae... hold on, part-fae have those splotchy wings, angels have white wings, the fae have black wings,—" Tommy gasps, "you're a fae!"</p><p>"Yes, Tommy. Now come on." Philza begins to walk, crossing his arms in front of him.</p><p>"Hold on, you told us you were part fae!" Tommy jogs to catch up and Philza nods.</p><p>"Yes, because I wasn't supposed to have to show you. Ever." Philza grimaces, looking down.</p><p>"Why not?"</p><p>"Pure Fae are dangerous Tommy, if people are told about my wings, they'll hunt me for them. Though mine are partially broken... they won't care. Pure Fae feathers are used in a lot of medicine, I just don't want you guys to have to see a Fae hunt... I don't want you guys to have to see the real me." Philza huffs. It's tough to tell Tommy this much but he rustles his feathers and continues until he turns to the corner to see the clearing of his cabin. Suddenly the worries about the fae situation dissolve, and they do for Tommy as well, as he begins to book it for the door. Philza chuckles to himself as he follows behind the excited child.</p><p>The door slams open and Tommy stumbles in. Philza calling from behind him to slow down. </p><p>"Christ, Tommy." Niki laughs, setting down her plates and bowls that she had just washed. Wilbur popped his head from the side room, that had been dubbed the boy's room, where Tubbo was probably recovering. Tommy turned, looking over to Wilbur who turned back and spoke into the doorway for a few seconds before nodding.</p><p>"Tommy, c'mon," Wilbur says and Tommy immediately speeds towards him. Philza chuckles and takes off his jacket and hangs it up, silently signaling to Niki what had happened. She nodded towards him and rustled her own wings in response. He then followed Tommy to the boy's bedroom.</p><p>"Be gentle with him, okay? He can't walk yet, he has limited movement, and Techno is still toying with it to make sure it's alright. " Wilbur says, then pushes open the door. Tommy basically shoved Wilbur out of the way and froze in the doorway, eyes wide.</p><p>Tubbo sat on the bed propped up against a mountain of pillows. He had a thick blue blanket wrapped around his shoulders and bundles around him, but instead of his one, normal human leg, he also had one shiny, metal leg that Techno shut a panel on as Tommy opened the door.</p><p>"Tommy!" Tubbo cheered, holding his arms out. Tommy laughed and rushed over, throwing his arms around Tubbo and holding him tight. Philza chuckled softly at the twos embrace. Wilbur awed softly as Techno just grinned. Niki popped her head in and awed before leaving the cabin with her notebook in her hand.</p><p>"Tubbo! Look at you! Look at your leg! You're like.. like a... Big man, huh!" Tommy leaned back from the hug, looking down at his friend.</p><p>Tubbo laughed, his head lolling to the side as he brought a hand to his face, "B-Big man?"</p><p>"Yeah! You're like, half-robot now! A big man! Hard to beat, of course." Tommy grinned as he poked Tubbo's new leg.</p><p>"Woah... I felt that..." Tubbo murmured and Tommy lifted a hand to smack it before Techno's hand shot out and grabbed his hair, tugging him back while Tommy screeched complaints. Tubbo laughed, leaning back against his pillows.</p><p>"No smacking the new tech, I still have to mess with it before he can walk and such." Techno rolled his eyes, handing Tommy some books, "but now, you can help me. You're always beside him, so you should know how to fix and use this tech if it breaks when I'm not around."</p><p>"Yea! Okay! I'll learn! For Tubbo." Tommy grinned, following Techno over to the other side of the bed, where they kneeled next to Tubbo's new left leg. While those two worked on fixing up the tech, Wilbur aided Philza in the kitchen. The two worked on wrapping and cleaning his wings, since his right-wing was damaged he couldn't clean them himself. Niki came back in only a few minutes after, claiming that she had put protection sigils on the house. It was peaceful now, in the small cabin in the clearing of the North Woods.</p><p> </p>
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